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Subject: Re: learning by doing/breaking/banging head
I have a arm64 machine that runs Linux native. I can build locally.
Many have little SBCs like a raspberry pi.. they can too so its not just Apple...
Yeah. There's no excuse anymore. If you aren't daily driving
Linux at this point it's because you don't want to.
"I daily-drive MacOS because it's the only system where I can build and run Linux aarch64 binaries *locally*"
I hate Linux - I hate the commands. I hate that I still forget how to really use GREP with pipes to search so efficiently it makes all other search routines in other OSes look... just lame...
But I've never got how people really struggle with vi. It is my goto editor in Linux - and I find that Pico and other more "modern" editors cause me issues that I never encounter on vi. I remember hating vi when I first got into Debian WAY back when (and I started with Slackware - which was a nightmare, and Redhat, which was a nightmare - package management in Debian was a game changer - and is why Ubuntu is so popular... and really, Debian style apt-get package management with dependency resolution has kind of become the defacto standard on most modern *nix distros... but anyhow...)
Vi is... weird, I guess - in the way it approaches text file editing - and the commands are their own little *nix style OS on their own, I guess... and I bet at some point in prehistory it was just what was practical and available and that is why it works the weird way it does - which - you can say the same about the entire *nix ecosystem. Once you learn either - I get that they're incredibly powerful - the learning curve though, is not just intimidating - it is BEYOND most people. If you know Linux and you're good at it... I mean - really know Linux - where you've say, custom compiled your own kernel with WiFi modules and sound modules and whatever you used to have to do... down to installing the right modules to control fans and power features - not installing a modern distro like Ubuntu Desktop where you NEVER have to get to the CLI and custom configure a text based config file - if you've really had to use Vi because there was no other solution - then you're in the top 20% not just of computer users/admins - but - the top 20% of intellects. *Nix is not for average people - not using it at THAT level. They've made huge strides at making it accessible to people or more average intellect - but for most of its history - you had to be damn smart and very dedicated to really make it work.
At this stage of the game, you don't need to know anything about the underlying structure. Click and drool mode has been available for some time now.
Sun Feb 22 2026 06:05:34 UTC from ParanoidDelusionsI hate Linux - I hate the commands.
Subject: Re: learning by doing/breaking/banging head
Many have little SBCs like a raspberry pi.. they can too so
I have two of them :)
The problem I have is that purchasing them violates the "no more computers unless you get rid of one" rule from my wife. But maybe I can get an exception since they are small and don't take much power or space. This rule came into place years ago when I came home with a pair of TRS-80s unexpectedly.
Subject: Re: learning by doing/breaking/banging head
Do you still use the Rpi I sent you? I hope so. If you want more - let me know. They're just getting bit rot with me. PM me your address again. I'll send them to you.
Someone should use them.
Wed Feb 25 2026 23:14:55 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: learning by doing/breaking/banging headMany have little SBCs like a raspberry pi.. they can too so
I have two of them :)
2026-02-26 16:13 from fandarel
Subject: raspberry pi
I need to get invovled with little SBCs. Haven't tried them myself but
I can think of lots of small uses that would be fun to explore.
The problem I have is that purchasing them violates the "no more
computers unless you get rid of one" rule from my wife. But maybe I
can get an exception since they are small and don't take much power or
space. This rule came into place years ago when I came home with a
pair of TRS-80s unexpectedly.
The problem with Raspberries is their IO is abyssmal so there is not that much you can do with them. Unless you need them to be small, quiet and efficient, an old second hand computer is going to serve you much better for anything that requires accessing storage quickly.
BTW Is it just me, ir is every fucking body held hostage by their wife these days? GEEEEEEZ.